Max and Ruby is a series of children's books, written by Rosemary Wells. It has been adapted into a Canadian children's cartoon (helmed by Wells), which has aired on Nick Jr. from its 2002 debut to the present day. Production of new episodes stopped for a while around 2007, but the continued popularity of the series led to revived production of new episodes, with six official seasons of the program to date and a revived merchandise line.

Max and Ruby are a pair of young sibling rabbits who live in a fairly normal suburb. Their parents are seemingly nonexistent, so it usually falls to older Ruby to look after the younger Max. Young Max, however, is a rambunctious troublemaker with a hugely one-track mind — such to the point that in every episode, his dialogue typically consists of only one word, repeated with a variety of different inflections. In over her head, the somewhat controlling Ruby often tries to bend him to her will. And typically fails. Sometimes, she even goes so far as to drag Max into her Zany Scheme of the day. It typically works out all right in the end, however, and Max's meddling desire to get what he wants is often strangely beneficial to Ruby's scheming.

In 2016, the series underwent its second and most significant Re Tool. The parents are no longer nonexistent, but instead are seen occasionally on-screen in each episode, though Max and Ruby still mostly solve their problems themselves. Max's dialogue now also includes complete sentences and the character begins attending preschool.

Competence Zone: Strangely, only the Bunny Scouts seem to be fully within it! Grandma is allowed a few, though.

Control Freak: Ruby has shades of this, as she is sometimes downright obsessed with making Max do things her way.

Convenience Store Gift Shopping: In one episode, Ruby wants to buy Grandma Bunny a birthday present, and tries to talk Max out of buying her something he would want—like candy vampire fangs. However, it's subverted when we find out that Grandma has a sense of humor and likes candy vampire fangs as well as thoughtfully chosen presents.

Crying Wolf: In "The Bunny Who Cried Lobster," Ruby tells Max the story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf, with Max cast a boy minding toy chicks against wolf attack, after he claims that his toy lobster somehow got out of the cupboard, swiped a piece of her upside-down cake, and went back into the cupboard. (Not that actually says as much directly, he just says "lobster" when she points out what happened to her cake.) As it turns out, it's a Broken Aesop from the beginning, as Max is telling the truth, as Ruby finds out when she concludes the story, summarizes the moral, and then watches the lobster do the exact same thing after she hears Max shout "Lobster!" again. Additionally, in Ruby's version of the story, the villagers actually tell the boy point-blank after the second time that they won't believe him if he calls out a third time, which means they're being actively stupid, as they've now directly surrendered responsibility to someone they've admitted they won't come for when he calls.

Deadpan Snarker: Sometimes Max has those moments in the times where he does talk.

Ruby was also like this in the original books. Especially in the original version of "Max's Chocolate Chicken", where Ruby told Max "Max, you'd have trouble finding your own ears if they weren't attached to your head." this line was removed in the animated series but was kept in the 1991 and 1995 Animated Adaptation which was released on VHS. She did become this in the newer episodes whenever Max gets caught doing something.

Death Glare: Max often gives Ruby one when she tries to boss him around.

Genki Girl: Martha especially in the episodes centered around the Bunny Scouts well at least in the first few seasons. When the show got another season in 2009, Martha's excited personality has been toned down.

Getting Crap Past the Radar: In "Ruby's Birdie", Louise and Ruby are playing badminton. Ruby says a birdie is also called a shuttlecock. After a few suggesting looks between the two, they decide to just call it a birdie.

Hiccup Hijinks: Happens to Ruby in one episode. After spending the entire time trying her friends' cures while simultaneously fending off Max's attempts to get her to help him find his monster mask... guess what happens when Max finally finds it?

Invisible Parents: If Max and Ruby have any, they go largely unseen. However, their grandmother is a recurring character. Lampshaded in a song titled "Where Are The Parents?" featured in a Max & Ruby stage show. Yes, this song is a big Parental Bonus.

It appears as though they have parents as family photos in the backdrop reveal this. However they are never present. (According to the song, "They're on the sundeck just to relax / Not too far from Ruby and Max.")

Not This One, That One: In "Max's Rocket Run," Max and Ruby go out sledding. They first observe Rocket Run, which Max is thrilled at the idea of. Then, Ruby shows him "where little bunnies go. You'll love it."

Ruby: This is Bunny Hill, Max. This is the hill you're going to go down. Won't it be fun, Max?

Pokémon Speak: He doesn't simply say his name, but the way Max talks (often saying nothing but a single word throughout an episode, with multiple inflections to reflect his emotions) is very reminiscent of this. This becomes averted in the newest episodes that have Max speaking in full sentences.

Roger Rabbit Effect: While no live-action shots are ever seen in the animated series or the actual books. This was only present in the spin-off books called "Baby Max And Ruby" which combines real life objects with the characters.

Rail Enthusiast: Grandma's purchase of a toy train for Max kicks off a four-story train arc.

Raised by Grandparents: While never stated, Grandma Bunny does seem to be the only visible adult authority figure in Max and Ruby's lives. This becomes averted when Max and Ruby's parents finally appear in the newest episodes starting with "Max's Preschool."

Rascally Rabbit: Max is an innocent example. He's a scheming tot who regularly gets into mischief, much to his sister's dismay.

Santa Claus: Max's continuous questions of "Why?", "When?", "How?", etc. regarding Santa Claus are the subject of the story "Max's Christmas," eventually leading Ruby to resort to simply "Because!" Especially since he keeps sneaking out of bed to try to see Santa Claus, even though she tells him Santa won't show if they're not sleeping. When Santa eventually does show...

Sibling Rivalry: Word of God is that the show is supposed to be about the universal nature of sibling relationships, good and bad. While Max and Ruby are often at odds, they generally pull through each other in the end.

Sibling Yin-Yang: Ruby being the smarter, if more controlling, one; Max is the wildfire.

A Simple Plan: Leave it to Max to muck it up. Especially if he's the target of it!

Those Two Girls: Get used to seeing Ruby and Louise, because they have a lot of scenes in the show.

Vocal Evolution: In the earlier episodes, Ruby's voice sounded high pitch compared to newer episodes where she sounded more mature and older due to recasting. This is most notable when she laughs, while in the older episodes she had a cute laugh while in the newer ones she gives a deep chuckle.

Max also got a new voice actor, and he sounds more older compared to his previous voice. Since Max was voiced by an actual child.

For unknown reasons, Rogers sounds younger in the newer episodes when he sounded older in his earlier appearances.

Martha sounds more mature and calm compared to her earlier episodes when she actually talked. She previously had a very high pitch voice.

Zany Scheme: Ruby has plenty of them, from making fruit-based beauty products to making haunted houses.

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